Mapping Your Value Stream

Part of the award-winning Manufacturing Insights video series, this program explains how value-stream mapping can be used to find waste in your production system.

It starts by discussing the problems associated with a mass production philosophy. Dr. James Womack, president of the Lean Enterprise Institute, shares some of his experiences with mapping and what kind of reaction most people have when they learn to see waste within their operation. The three types of information needed to build a value-stream map are explained along with an explanation of how the timeline calculation at the bottom of the map highlights excessive inventories.

This video uses an in-depth example of value-stream mapping at the Donnelly Corporation. This automotive supplier created single piece flow, cut inventories, and made major improvements in quality and delivery by using value-stream mapping to help focus improvement efforts in the right areas. Several different future state icons are explained in detail to show how lean techniques such as kanban, flow, and supermarkets operate in real world conditions.